MX3 CS pivots to focus on new opportunities in the EV Charging sector

A few months ago we decided to temporarily stop developing AtomIM for heavy machinery and AtomCM for industrial bitcoin mining rigs. This is because, after extensive analysis, we decided to explore an exciting new vertical that we believe represents even greater potential — electric vehicle (EV) charging. The basic functionality of our third iteration of Atom (AtomEV) will remain the same, however, it will be adapted for EV drivers who want to use it to plug in and charge via domestic power points when they’re away from home and not within range of a commercial fast charger.

Before going into further detail about AtomEV, it is important to state that our long-term objective of becoming “PayPal for machines’’ has not changed. Atom was originally designed to monitor, manage, and monetise (hence the company name MX3) any type of machine-based activity using a blend of IoT (Internet of Things) and financial technologies such as open-banking APIs and blockchain.

The market opportunity is almost limitless as Atom could, in theory, be used to monitor, manage, and monetise almost any type of machine-based activity undertaken by anything from a 300-tonne mining truck to a tiny air quality sensor. We think the monetisation of machines, often referred to as “machine commerce” or simply m-commerce will become a key driver of wealth creation globally over the coming decades. The combined wealth created by m-commerce is referred to as the “Machine Economy”, and we think this represents a huge market opportunity for MX3 CS.

With regards specifically to AtomEV, we have been keeping a close eye on the EVs charging sector for a while and realised that with only a few amendments to the original version of Atom we could use it to monitor, manage, and monetise EV energy consumption.

Although there are relatively few EVs on the road today, it’s the growth trajectory that piqued our interest. We did a ground-up assessment of the global EV charging market and estimated a growth rate of 56.21% CAGR. To ensure this number accurately represented the market potential for AtomEV, we excluded home and destination charging and focused entirely on in-transit charging.

This is because our solution primarily helps EV drivers find somewhere to top-up en route if they are not within range of a commercial charging station. They will be able to simply plug into any domestic EV charging point using C&PL (see below) or power outlet using AtomEV, and we will organise payment on behalf of the EV driver. It removes all the hassle of cash payment at the venue, or bartering (you’d be amazed how often bottles of wine are offered in exchange for energy!) When it comes to destination charging, EV drivers could also use it when staying overnight with friends in the countryside, or a hotel, holiday rental, or bed and breakfast.

AtomEV is currently at prototype stage, and won’t be commercially available until next year. Potential customers will be able to buy it directly from our website (please join our waiting list) as well as from approved high street retailers. It will look like a smart plug and will sit between the EV charging cable and the power outlet. It will work by connecting to our servers via the Internet, monitoring exactly how much energy has been consumed, and facilitating instant payment as soon as the charging session ends.

As AtomEV will take time to fully develop and commercialise, we have also been working on a “low-tech” solution that we can deploy much sooner. It’s called Charge and Pay Later (C&PL), and is already being offered to a select number of test users. They are able to call our free-phone number and arrange for the energy provider to be compensated by us upfront via bank transfer. We will then invoice them, so they can pay us later.

AtomEV and C&PL both aim to help solve range anxiety and charging anxiety by enabling the creation of a distributed network of privately owned EV charging points and domestic power outlets — particularly in rural areas that lack commercial fast charging infrastructure. This will hopefully guarantee that every EV driver will always be able to find somewhere to charge, and almost guarantee they’ll never get stranded.

We as a company are therefore doing our bit to help accelerate EV adoption, and evolve Atom in order to take advantage of new opportunities as they emerge as a result of m-commerce and the machine economy.

About MX3 Commerce Solutions Ltd (T/A MX3 CS)

​MX3 Commerce Solutions Ltd is a British tech startup and machine commerce (m-commerce) solutions provider based in London and Edinburgh.

About AtomEV (portable smart meter)

AtomEV is a blockchain-connected portable smart meter that aims to accelerate electric vehicle adoption by offering a distributed network of privately-owned EV chargers and domestic power outlets in areas that lack commercial fast charging infrastructure. MX3 CS currently only serves UK customers, but plans to expand into new markets next year.

About C&PL (buy now, pay later)

ChargeAndPayLater (C&PL) is a low-tech version of AtomEV that the company has developed that does not involve an app or a connected device. It uses a simple third-party drop-down web-interface that estimates energy usage and free-phone number that EV drivers can call in order to facilitate payments to the energy provider immediately after the charging session has been completed. The EV driver will then receive an invoice from MX3 CS that will include the cost of the energy they consumed, VAT, and our processing fee, which they can pay later.